Taken
Prologue The sun burnt down on his neck, but he did not care. Squattting behind the bushes, binoculars in hand, he gazed at the window. When the girl appeared, he smiled satisfactorily and snapped a photo, zooming in while ensuring clarity of the image. It was time. Years had passed already, but finally, it was time. Chapter One "Now, class, as you can see, because x'' equals half ''y, therefore..." The teacher's voice was only a hum in Valerie Benson's ears as she she stared blankly at the wall, hands randomly doodling spirals over and over again on her worksheet. Her eyes focused upon the clock. One minute more to the end of school, which was widely regarded as torture for unenthusiastic students. 3... 2... 1... The bell rang, echoing loudly throughout the school. Shoving all her worksheets unmercifully into her overflowing bag, Valerie stood up and left the classroom along with a swarm of students, elbowing her way to the main gate where freedom awaited her, goading her. She rushed forward and out of the gate. She was free at last, with no annoying teacher droning on and on about boring topics that barely engaged her interest. At least Aunt Miranda and Uncle Peter were more interesting. Aunt Miranda and Uncle Peter. Valerie's parents had died when she was five years old, disappearing without a single trace. They were presumed dead after eyewitnesses saw the couple being hit by a van, but later on, when the police arrived, there was nothing. Not a single soul, apart from the dead driver. And if vans could have souls, that van would have, for it groaned and creaked, spluttering smoke everywhere. The police were baffled by their disappearance, but when Michael and Yvonne Benson did not show up, even for the ten years, they simply presumed that they were dead. Dead. For ten years, Valerie was raised by her aunt and uncle, her only living relatives. Her sometimes annoying cousin was two years younger than she was, but was in the same grade as she was. It was even more annoying when he could do all his homework without problem while she struggled just to answer an "easy" Maths question. Contempt spread throughout Valerie's mind like fast-acting poison. Clenching her fists involuntarily, she marched on, her joy at going home gone. As she turned into an alleyway, she glimpsed a shadow. When she tried to find the source of the shadow, it disappeared entirely. Deciding to ignore it, Valerie unlocked the gate and entered the house. "Aunt! Uncle! I'm home!" she called. Her aunt answered her with a greeting, then the sound of washing filled the house yet again. Valerie reached her room and dumped her bag there. Rummaging through the mess of worksheets, she found that she had lots of homework. English comprehension and cloze, Maths problem sums and heuristics, Science mock paper. It would take a long, long time. But firstly, she would take a nap. Boredom had taken it all out of her, and she promptly collapsed on the soft bed and fell into a deep sleep. *** Finally, Valerie's truckload of homework was sorted out and finished. Smiling vacantly to herself, she started doodling on a piece of paper full of random scribblings. Graceful arcs and bold loops now filled the page, creating something odd. Valerie frowned. Something was wrong. Something, in all that order, was absolutely wrong. The night yawned outside her window, stars blinking like beacons of light running on faulty batteries. But there was a certain stillness that caught her attention. Even the usual snoring of Uncle Peter was absent. In a flash, before she could blink, the door opened. Someone darted in and Valerie stood up immediately, her chair scraping against the smooth ceramic tiles. She found herself facing a man covered by black literally. Black shirt, black pants, black mask. "What do you want?" she rasped, the moisture in her mouth dissipating. The man chuckled quietly. "Something, my dear girl." Somehow, the low voice was familiar but Valerie could not make it out. Was it one of her kindergarten teachers' voices? Or was it some stranger in the streets? Before she could think any further, quicker than lightning, Valerie's hands were yanked backwards and she felt that she was falling towards the ground. The last thing she saw was the mocking stars of the night before her head slammed against the hard ground and she blacked out. Category:Multichap